Grow Your Own Family Tree has published an interesting article that I’ve published in it’s entirety. In doing so I’d like to give a heads-up to Alan Stewart’s factual website:

“The Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF) has introduced a charge for viewing search results as well as details of records.

Up to now, searching databases and viewing the results has been free of charge at the IFHF’sRoots Ireland website. Now, however, the IFHF seems to be following the Scottish Government’s ScotlandsPeoplesite in requiring you to buy credits before you can view search results. (The first ten pages of results after registering with the site will be free of charge.)

I think charging to view search results will mean fewer people searching, rather than the IFHF receiving more money.

The IFHF says: “Roots Ireland has introduced a credits system with various bulk-buy options that give users a chance to view the detail of a record for as little as 2.00 EURO per record (based on purchasing 750 credits at 60.00 EURO).

“Every user can view 10 pages of Search Results for FREE on registration. Any user that registered before March 22nd 2012 will also be able to view 10 pages of search results at no charge. If a user wishes to view the details of any record returned as part of these ten free pages of search results they will need to purchase credits to do so (subject to our terms and conditions).

“Users will need to purchase credits to view additional pages of search results when they have used the 10 free pages of results or to view the details of any record.

“If you have previously paid to view the details of a record you will still be able access it for 24 months from the date of purchase.

“Our site currently provides access to over 19 million Irish genealogical records. Users can search an individual centre/county’s records or perform a search across all centres’ data. Please see Our Interactive Map of Genealogy Centres around Ireland to see what county genealogy centres have data available and their Online Sources. Many more records will be added in the coming weeks.

“The current purchase options are as follows:

“To view the results of any single search up to a maximum of 10 results per page will cost 1 credit.

“Any single record will cost 25 Credits . By bulk buying credits you can avail of significant savings. Please see the bulk purchase options listed below.

“Amount to purchase:

€5.00 – (35 Credits)

€10.00 – (73 Credits) – Bulk Saving

€18.00 – (150 Credits) – Bulk Saving

€32.00 – (320 Credits) – Bulk Saving

€60.00 – (750 Credits) – Bulk Saving

“Therefore, to view one page of search results will cost 00.10 cent (EURO), and to view 10 pages of search results will cost 1.00 EURO.

“A user can enter any information they know in the available search fields, e.g. Child’s first name, surname, father’s first name, surname, mother’s first name, surname, year and county. The more specific the search the fewer results that will be returned. By searching in a particular county’s dataset you can refine your search by parish/denomination. Users must check what Online Sources are available and understand that these records are not uniform and that their contents can vary. Please refer to Sample Records for further information.

“You may change your registered email or password under the ‘My Account’ option of the website. If you have forgotten your password click on ‘Reset Password’ at the login page.

“Credit vouchers are valid for 12 months from the time of purchase. The IFHF/www.rootsireland.ie will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions in the products and/or services it sells. While IFHF will seek to redress matters of grievance, refunds will be granted at the sole discretion of IFHF management. Credit vouchers can be purchased and spent on any part of the www.rootsireland.ie website.

“We hope that you find the information that you are interested in on our site. If you have any questions please check our Help Pages and if this does not provide an answer, then do not hesitate to contact us. You can also contact any of the individual county genealogy centres with your family history query and to commission professional research.””